Phoebe in Wonderland

Do you think that something's going on with Phoebe?"

Phoebe Lichen (Elle Fanning) is aware the troubles her behavior causes on her family. Unfortunately, 'aware' is no match for the constant stream of compulsions the wreaks havoc on her mind. She is intelligent, but upsets her school with spitting, verbal outbursts, and loneliness. She's like that kid in class that you were irritated by but never considered there may be more to her actions then just trying to upset your life.

Her mother and father want to help her out but are distracted by their work. Her precocious little sister considers her a burden to 'look after.' The only time she winds down is when she is cast as the lead in her school's production of "Alice in Wonderland."

Her oddball teacher, who perhaps sees a bit of herself in the girl, is impressed by her dedication to her part, and realizes that theater is most likely a good outlet for her. Although Phoebe is by no means bad as Alice, it is possible that the part had less to do with talent as the telling, soap-rawed marks all over her palms.

Phoebe is befriended by Jamie, a mildly effeminate fellow student. She clearly wants to be a part of "Alice in Wonderland," but motivation is not enough to control her unintentional behavior problems. The suspicious principal is tempted to pull her from the play, and the other girls seem to have it out for her.

Elle Fanning, who is probably being nudged toward her older sister Dakota Fanning's success, is impressive as the main character. It is strange and fascinating how a seemingly normal young actress could consistently portray Phoebes premature sadness and hopelessness at her emotional disconnect from friends and family. There is a painful scene where she is in bed and her distracted mother discovers bruises all over her knees, caused by performing compulsions hopping up and down the stairs repeatedly.

Unfortunately, "Wonderland" is hindered by cliche' characters that that could have been put together more thoughtfully, for instance- high-strung principal, extremely smart kid sister, manipulative little bullies, and even the unorthodox teacher. Also the dream sequences featuring Wonderland characters, while visually beautiful, seem somewhat out of place, as if added to put extra interest into the narrative.

"Pheobe in Wonderland" is of interest to people concerned with depressed, misfit children, and may well be helpful in advancing the younger Fanning's career. Despite the eventual Tourette's diagnosis, it is really a ode to kids whose differences set them apart, making them wish they had a 'wonderland' to slip into when things got out of hand (Rated PG-13.)

Recommendation- For a similar film about a troubled kid who finds an outlet through theater, watch The Tic Code

Film Geek

The cover of "Film Geek," you may notice, proclaims "This year's Napoleon Dynamite!" Depending on your tolerance for the 'quirky nerd' shtick, this may entice you or make you run the other way. Comparison to "Napoleon Dynamite" aside, "Film Geek" is more human, lower budget, and with a melancholy edge. Unlike Napoleon, who had a small group of friends orbiting his planet of nerddom, This movies protagonist, Scotty Pelk (Melik Malikson), repels practically everyone he come comes in contact with.

Scotty is a twenty-something young man with no life to speak of, who spends his time inevertedly harassing people at the video store that he works at. If they aren't driven off by his voice (which sounds like he's been inhaling helium) or his generally aggravating demeanor, it's probably the fact that he relentlessly badgers people on his knowledge of movies. He has so much trivia it might put half the "Film Threat" reviewers to shame.

Scotty appears to be clueless about his effect on others, although often they aren't exactly subtle about their disdain for him. He could quite possibly be diagnosed with Asperger's, but then viewers with Asperger's and their friends may be angered. He is so intensely annoying, in fact, that his boss finally takes him aside and tells him that his "expertise might be better appreciated elsewhere."

Unable to get any other film-related jobs, Scotty starts working at a car parts factory. It is around this time that he meets Nika, a free-spirited artist who is first seen by him reading a book on the films of David Cronenberg. Scotty decides that Nika is his chance for a romantic relationship, but she is, understandably, not so sure. As they go to events and she encourages him to "expand his horizons," this odd semi-dating status is invaded by Nika's obnoxious, egotistical, but less geeky ex-boyfriend.

Scotty is such a sad individual that he most likely will be either hated or pitied- in my case, pitied. Spurting movie jargon and attempting to relate to other people, he is a far cry from Napoleon, who spent most of his film acting purposefully gawky and being a self-satisfied object of laughter, less capable of normal human response. So, by saying that I sympathized with the loser, does this mean I recommend the film?

Not really. Despite their differences, "Film Geek" and "Napoleon Dynamite" reach the same pitfall. They're not funny. Sure, they're quirky, but watching a oddball, nerdy person live their isolated life and act like an uber-dork is not the same, for me at least, as being entertained. In this case, you feel more uncomfortable then amused. Even though "Film Geek" slightly overcomes this by being almost thought-provoking in it's presentation, I found myself becoming distracted and concentrating on the many movies in the background. 'Is that Todd Solondz's "Happiness" over there?'

You might like "Film Geek." You might hate it. If you like the 'nerd' genre and find the general tone of oddities such as "Napoleon Dynamite" to be amusing, go for it. This is not bad, like another low-budgeter "Imagination," just sort of pointless (Rated R.) **1/2

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Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)

Bleak love story between two lonely twelve-year-olds, one who has been 'twelve for a long time,' is undoubtedly categorized as horror. but is it? Tomas Alfredson's film debut, based on an international bestseller, seems like a provocative drama, with elements of horror throughout. In the days of tongue-in-cheek 'scary movies' ("Shaun of the Dead") and pulpy formula pictures ("Prom Night,") "Let the Right One In" stands out- a story about isolation meant to be taken seriously and absorbed.

Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is an introverted, pale pre-adolescent relentlessly tormented and humiliated at school by classmates. We don't know what's ahead for him, but what we see doesn't look good- he spends his time imagining his revenge with a knife he keeps in his pocket, and collecting newspaper articles about recent killings, putting them in a scrapbook like baseball cards.

One night, outside his apartment where he lives with his single mother, he meets Eli (Lea Leandersson.) "Aren't you cold?" he asks, noting her bare feet against the white snow. "No." After that night, Oskar continues to meet Eli, fascinated by her. The two strike a furtive romance, although Eli several times warns him, "I'm not a girl." When Oskar discovers Eli's secret, he turns a blind eye, even as the vicious killings persist.

Eli is a vampire. We see her several times hunting down and feeding off neighbors, as well as forcing her human roommate to be an accomplice and help keep her alive. Eli hardly seems happy about the life forced upon her- she treats it as something that simply needs to be done, which it basically is. Oskar, suppressing violence himself, cares for Eli regardless of her dietary habits. And it is Eli who teaches Oskar to stand up to the boys who torment him, and finally, in her own twisted way, saves him.

After the closing credits, I sat there for a while and simply thought about the film. The more I considered 'the meaning,' the grimmer it became. This is the kind of movie where you sit for an hour or so, watching the story unfold, and then the plot's implications hit you. It is intelligent and original, and I should have spent my time reading the novel version of this, instead of the awe-inspiringly overrated twaddle "Twilight."

This is, make no mistake, a good film, but I found a couple aspects that dampered it. First of all, there was a part involving obviously animatronic cats that I suppose was meant to be scary, but came off just laughable. It was not nearly as bad as the infamous 'drugged-dog scene' in "There's Something About Mary," but that was comedy, and it's difficult to be scared by a scene when it's obviously staged and using fake animals that came out of one of those "Air Buddies"-esque slapstick kiddie flicks.

Secondly, what was with the partial child nudity? This was hardly offensive, as it was, as a whole, non-exploitive, but the majority didn't seem to aid the plot. I read that one scene in particular was a significant point in the book (vampire lore?) but other bits seemed sprinkled around. I am neither disgusted nor truly questioning the director's motives, but am simply puzzled by their place in the movie. Why add them? Because you can?

"Let the Right One In," however, is mostly a unique and rewarding film experience. If you see and like it, you might want to order the book. Sooner or later, I probably will (Rated R.)

Volver

Talk about issues! Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) find more trouble than she might be able to handle in this offbeat drama. Her Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave) has just died, and her sister, Sole (Lola Duenas) claims to be seeing the spirit of their mom, Irene (Carmen Maura,) who died in a fire years ago.

To add to her misfortunes, a terminally ill family friend (Bianca Portillo) is asking for Raimunda to discover the whereabouts of her mother. Lastly, there's one big problem- her scummy boyfriend Paco (Antonio de la Torre) tried to sexually assault his adolescent stepdaughter (Yohana Cobo,) and is found by Raimunda in a puddle of blood and a knife in his chest. Now all she needs is that empty freezer...

What first appear to be disconnected events slowly come together. Sole feels betrayed believing that Raimunda is selfishly avoiding her aunt's funeral, after being on not-so-close terms with Irene. Raimunda avoids telling her the truth, that she's very busy trying to dispose of Paco's body with the help of a hooker friend, and comforting her daughter after the event.

Meanwhile, a group of filmmakers are trying to get her to fix them a meal from her restaurant (don't worry, Paco does not come into use.) Eventually, family secrets surface and the sister's begin to understand the complexity of the events surrounding her mother's death.

This is the the first film I've seen by director Pedro Almodovar, with "All About My Mother" next on my list. From this film and information about his movies, I take it that he likes women. Not in a sexual way, I hear he's openly gay, but in a way that he likes to focus his screen time on them. "Volver" may quite possibly have a feminist slant, but I think he is probably just used to the female perspective. Could he make a movie about guys if he wanted to? Quite possibly, but the question is irrelevant.

"Volver" is lively and emotional, with so many twists it would put "The Sixth Sense" to shame. Never mind that they're are completely implausible- they're so superbly crafted, and cleverly carried out by the lead actresses, that you are sucked into the film's universe and take them as truth. A couple of the revalations I saw coming, others took me by surprise. This is about women, and may very well be a 'chick-flick,' but it is most likely unlike any chick flick you've ever seen before (Rated R.)

The Triplets of Belleville

Hey, you've got to give it points for originality. "The Triplets of Bellesville," a strikingly one-of-a-kind, 80-minute acid trip, is most likely unlike anything you've ever seen before. Oh, and it's animated. I watched it quietly, not riveted, but rarely bored at the menagerie of weirdness unfolding before me.

The film's protagonist is an Madame Sousa, an elderly, squat French woman with a hairy upper lip. When she is put in charge of her little grandson, Champion (who are his parents? I don't know,) she is unable to do anything to make the unsmiling kid happy.

She gets him a rotund, stick-legged puppy named Bruno, but after a brief period of interest Champion becomes bored with his friend. Finally, in a desperate attempt to please him, she buys him a small bike. Champion immediately takes a liking to it, and rides it around the kitchen. At this point, Granny become motivated to to give her grandson training.

Fast forward some years later, and Champion's a young man and still living with his Grandma, his bike, and his dog. And guess what? He's still relentlessly solemn. This doesn't stop Grandma from training him up, as she ties a rope to the exhausted guy and drags him on his bicycle around the city. You can tell she's fond of him, though- just clueless at separating what she wants and what he likes.

But disaster lurks just ahead, When Champion enters the Tour de France, he and several other contestants are kidnapped by a duo of black-coated men. As soon as Grandma finds out he's been taken for unknown purposes, she and Bruno embark on a rescue mission, being taken in by The Triplets of Belleville, a group of aging, very eccentric has-been lounge singers.

That's the plot. But really, it doesn't seem to be so much the plot the directer, Sylvain Chomet, seems less concerned with as the sights along the way. Abandoning nearly every connection to reality, she creates a bleakly beautiful, grim, nearly wordless landscape where saying 'strange' is a waste of time because you can apply it as an understatement to every character and situation in the movie.

I didn't love this movie. I'm really even sure I liked it, all that much. However, I can assure you it's, without a doubt, unique. I'd compare it to Tim Burton, but- not quite. Besides the fact that it's not claymation like "Corpse Bride" or "The Nightmare Before Christmas," I guess this film seems less self-conscious in attempts to create dark atmosphere. No skeletons, zombies, or completely gray settings- just kind of a satisfied, macabre touch (Rated PG-13.)

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